‘To Tell the Truth’ churns out another season of liars
Imposter syndrome: Snuggle up on the couch, switch over to ABC and get ready to catch a liar as host Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”) welcomes his contestants — guessers and fraudsters alike — in the Season 6 premiere of “To Tell the Truth,” airing Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Part of a new tradition of rebooting classic game shows, this newest iteration of “To Tell the Truth” first hit the small screen back in 2016. While the show has seen various hosts, sets, decades and networks, this most recent reboot remains similar to its predecessors in concept and execution, though a few details have been changed to make the show more diverse and challenging. The premise of the show is — and has always been — that three people arrive on stage claiming to be a person with a unique job, leaving it up to the panelists (usually comprised of celebrities) to guess which contestant really is whom he or she claims to be. When the show first aired on CBS in 1956, the contestants were often all of the same sex and claimed to have the same name, but that is among one of the major changes to the current seasons.
Another large change is the timing — ABC has opted to double the fun over the past five years, increasing the half-hour episode time-slot to allow for a full hour of imposter-spotting. And while the network has chosen not to divulge any information about its upcoming panelist lineup, viewers can rest assured that this season will bring just as much to the table as past seasons that starred everyone from Betty White and Sherri Shepherd to Brad Garrett and world-famous boxing icon Mike Tyson.
With over 30 seasons of dubious deceivers, tune in to Season 6 of the Anthony Anderson-hosted “To Tell the Truth,” premiering Tuesday, Jan. 26, on ABC.
More ‘Misery’ in 2021: Yes indeed, folks! We all thought our troubles would come to an end with 2020, but it turns out there’s some “Misery” in the new year after all. Of course, this time it comes in the form of a game show and is, in fact, much more enjoyable than its name would allow you to believe.That’s right, the hilarious TV sensation “The Misery Index” is back for Season 3, premiering Tuesday, Jan. 26, on TBS.
Based on a card game with a moderately obscene name created by Andy Breckman (writer/creator of “Monk”), “The Misery Index” pits two teams against each other to rank a series of unfortunate events in order of the anguish and anxiety they could inflict on their victim. Each team features two members of The Tenderloins improvisational troupe (best known for their comedic antics on their show “Impractical Jokers”) accompanying one non-celebrity guest. Over the course of three rounds and a bonus round — each worth increasingly large sums of money — the teams are given embarrassing scenarios “from getting fired to accidentally sexting your grandfather” (per the network) and they must decide based on physical pain, emotional trauma and long-term psychological impact (the “Three Pillars of Misery” as created by a team of therapists) in which order they should appear using a scale of 1 to 100.At the end of the game, after all rounds have been played, the winner has the potential to have earned up to $35,500 in prize money.
Once again hosted by Jameela Jamil (“The Good Place”), Season 3 will feature more embarrassment, more jokes and even more misery than ever — and after the year we all just had, chances are there will be some excellent new material coming our way! At the very least, this show provides viewers with the comfort that no matter how bad you think your life is, things could always be worse.
Hot topic: The queen of gossip is hitting the film circuit and she wants to know “how you doin’?”You guessed it,Wendy fans, Lifetime is set to debut “Wendy Williams:The Movie” this Friday, Jan. 30, on the network.
Chronicling her rise to stardom from behind the mic on WRKS urban radio to in front of the camera in her TV talk show’s infamous purple chair, this new biopic puts Williams’ personal life in the spotlight for the first time in an “authorized” capacity.With Williams acting as the film’s executive producer alongside Will Packer (“Girls Trip,” 2017) and Sheila Ducksworth (“Soul Food”), the biopic has been able to tackle her successes and failures head-on. From starting her own business and becoming a media icon, to her struggles with cocaine addiction and shattered relationships, the events in the film are as real as Williams’ 2017 on-air fainting spell that was portrayed in the promotional trailer.
“The Oval’s” Ciera Payton steps into Williams’ shoes for the role, bringing all the fire, sass and edge that we have come to know and love in Williams herself; the kind of spirit and dedication to the job that has gotten her more than 12 years on syndicated television. Alongside Payton, “Wendy Williams: The Movie” (also titled “Wendy Williams:The Hot Topic”) stars Morocco Omari (“21 Bridges,” 2019) as ex-husband Kevin Hunter, Emy Aneke (“iZombie”) as WRKS New York’s DJ Red Alert and Liza Huget (“The Commish”) as Williams’ now recently deceased mother, Shirley.
Following a series of health setbacks, widespread coronavirus shutdowns and a period of mourning for her mother,Williams’ show will be returning to the air in 2021 for Season 13, this time on Fox. So, while you are tuning in to “Wendy Williams:The Movie” and all things Williams, be sure not to miss the feature-length, personal documentary hosted by Williams herself. It all goes down Friday, Jan. 26, only on Lifetime.